marjon9

I agree with you completely that posts about religion in general are not "wasted." But I do think that arguing with someone who believes that their own personal opinion is supported by the "WORD OF GOD" is a waste of time. Regardless of who is right or wrong, there is no interchange of ideas. Minds are totally closed. No matter what concepts are offered, they will always be shut down and rejected without the slightest degree of consideration if they conflict in the smallest way with that person's conception of what constitutes the "WORD OF GOD." There is no exchange there. And thus, such posts, in my opinion, are a waste. They are like arguing with a mannequin.

Hey bigtime, I have nothing at all against the Mexican doctors. Many people have had great experiences with them. But I just want to mention that my doc is in Denver. He charges $9950 for everything, and he is a very expererienced surgeon. You can get mor info about him by running a search for "Kirshenbaum" on this forum. Also, the link to his web site is below with my signature. Just something to think about. Good luck getting it all sorted out.

If only all religious people had the approach you have. There would have been about 20,000 fewer wasted posts on this board over the last few months.

Dave, it's probably not realistic to predict specific results for each person, but I can tell you that most people who get the band and lose significant amounts of weight find that they experience all the positive results you mention. The main point is, there is no better way to get there -- nothing else even comes close. So keep dreaming. We all have the same dreams. And for all of us, the odds are in our favor that the dreams will come true.

I've seen some discussion on this forum about people suspecting they have apnea but feeling reluctant to deal with it. I understand that because I certainly resisted dealing with it for a long time. But now that I have the CPAP I feel much better and I realize how serious the problem was before, especially for my heart. So, I'm posting this because I think it is something for folks to consider. As I understand it the majority of seriously obese people have this condition. As we lose weight many of us/most of us will be able to shed the CPAP. That is something to look forward to indeed. But until then, consider that this could be a very serious issue, affecting your present quality of life and having long-term serious consequences for heart health. http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20070304/hl_hsn/sleepapneaincreasinglytiedtoheartrisksstudy

I stayed at the Doubletree in Aurora, it was find but I think it was a bit overpriced. I really think your best bet is to call Dr. K's office and get some rcommendations from the staff. Then maybe call a few to get the specifics to make sure they have what you want.

I found a pre-mixed protein shake called Micellar Milk (or something close to that). It has 40 grams of protein, so that is a lot of protein in one shot. I usually have one of these a day at some point, mixed with yogurt and a banana, or mixed with peanut butter. So with that one drink I feel like I'm covered with protein since I also eat solid protein during the day. I have the Unjury and I like it. That is another good way to go. I think that drinking the protein shakes is a good habit to get into if you can because they do help with the hunger. I think it's just as important to eat enough of the right things as it is to avoid the wrong things. You don't want to just think in terms of eating tiny amounts. That can cause your body to go into starvation mode and resist weight loss. I think it is good to give your body everything it needs. Then it will be happy and you can lose the weight. Since you don't have much room in your stomach with the band, by the time you fill it up with all the items it needs there is not much room for anything else.

I agree that you want to have an experienced surgeon, that is for sure. But I am not sure I agree that all the experience has to be with the lap band. My doctor is a very experienced laparoscopic surgeon who has done about 10,000 laparoscopic procedures and pioneered some important techniques and taught them to hundreds of other surgeons. Even though at the time I went there he had only done about 60 lap bands, I still felt pretty confident about his experience.

My main reason for starting to look outside Maryland was price. The doctors I was referred to charged about $25,000. I'm self-pay so that was a big problem. So I started doing some research on this forum and found a few docs around the U.S. for under $15K. I also considered a Mexican doc and would have gone that route but I was trying to avoid it because people said it was hard to find after care and fill doctors if you were banded in Mexico. Eventually I ran across mention of Dr. Kirshenbaum in Aurora, CO near Denver. His price was $9950. People seemed to like him and he had a lot of experience in laparoscopic surgery in general, even though at that point he had only done about 60 lap bands. Another thing I liked about Dr. K is that he does not require psych tests and support groups and all that paternalistic stuff. I just felt like I was capable of making my own decisions about my life and health and I did not want to jump through hoops to prove to some stranger that I was sane enough to meet their standards. So, I climbed on top of a tall building with 12 machine guns ... just kidding. Anyway, the rest is history, so to speak. I had the surgery on 1/17.

I'm not meaning t pick on you Wantmeback, but have to say I do not agree with this. I am not sure where that figure came from of eating only 1/4 cup of food. Perhaps people have mentioned that they can eat only this much when they first start eating solids, I'm not sure. But when people describe their menus, which can be seen in many different types of posts, it is ordinarily a good bit more than that. I, for one, eat more than the amount perky1 describes and I've lost pretty well. It's all an individual thing. And, it can also be a problem to eat too little. You can send your body into starvation mode and it becomes really hard to lose any weight. And eating too little is unhealthy. Having the band does not mean that you are supposed to sacrifice your health in order to lose weight at any cost. Quite to the contrary. The band is about eating just the amount you need to be healthy and no more, and feeling full from that amount so you don't suffer. I am not sure why you are not losing, perky1, but I would try not to be too discouraged at this point. It is too soon to be discouraged. I would try and just keep your focus on finding the solution for you. It may involve more exercise. I'm not sure. But problem can be solved. Just keep moving forward.

I live in Maryland and went to Dr. Kirshenbaum in Colorado. In my area there are a number of doctors who will do fills for patients who had surgery out of state. I don't know where you live, but if you live far from Colorado you can probably find someone in a neighboring state, or otherwise closer than going back to Colorado. On the other hand, Dr. Kirshenbaum only charges $15 for fills for his patients, so you probably break even financially just going back to him. Of course, it can take a lot of time to fly to Colorado. But stricly from a financial perspective it's probably not too expensive to go back there for fills. On thing you might try is to post a question on this forum asking: "Anyone know any fill doctors in the state of XXXXX?" You might find that some options come up that you had not heard of. Concerning your question how often you need to travel, this is an individual issue that no one can answer for you. Some people need a lot of fills, and even some unfills. Other people never need a fill at all if they have sufficient restriction after surgery. That is rare but it does happen. I'm one of those so far. I was banded on 1/17/07 and still have plenty of restriction with no fills yet.

Personally I consider myself to be quite offensively "hazed" when someone tells me that I'm going to burn in hell because I don't believe exactly the way they do. She did not simply express her beliefs. She expressed beliefs that included her predictions for my future. I take that personally. The most arrogant and judgmental thing a person can do is to say "You must believe exactly as I do or you will burn in hell for eternity." You can call that "well stated and unoffensive" if you want to. I see it differently. And thank you gadget lady for carrying on the tradition of this thread of hazing anyone who states beliefs you disagree with. You ultra religious sorts truly crack me up. You can always dish it, but you can never take it. Why, because what YOU believe is backed up by the WORD OF GOD!!! You have no more right to your opinion than I do, and posts like yours involve "hazing" every bit as much as mine did. But, of course, I know you'll never be able to see that. After all, God told you that you are right.

I guess QT has a "beautiful gentle soul." But she also believes that everyone who does not believe the way she does is "lost." I guess that means that the large majority of people who have ever walked the earth, including the countless millions of human beings who never heard of Christ, will burn in hell for eternity. Pardon me, but that does not seem all that "gentle and beautiful" to me. I know she sincerely believes what she says but it's just a little but harsh for my taste.

At the moment only part of me is like a bloated sausage. So I guess that means I should answer in the affirmative the question posed on this thread. :heh:

First of all, 30 pounds in less than a year is not the end of the world. At that rate after 3 years you will have lost 100 pounds. In most circumstances that would be considered sensational. I would imagine it took you longer than 3 years to gain 100 pounds. Having said that, it is also true that there is nothing the band can do for you if spend your days eating chips, ice cream and candy. If you expected the band would help even with that type of a diet, then you did not get very good information before you were banded. This is just the harsh reality. All of us have had problems controlling our food choices, both in terms of menu selection and volume. So to answer your question, no, you are not the "only one." But to be successful with the band each of us must be willing to alter those bad food choices. There is no other answer. There is no shortcut. The band helps because it allows us to feel full on less. But the rest is up to us. If we are determined to find a way to fail, we can do that, even with the band.

Sounds like you've had a rough month. I hope it gets better from here. I don't have any great words of wisdom. But I do agree with Elisabeth that you should get to a doctor asap if you feel like the problems around the incisions are getting worse - or even if they are just not getting better. I think it could be worth informing your doctor that the steroid cream does not appear to be helping. Infections at the incisions can be a big problem, especially if not treated. Don't mean to worry you, just being cautious . It just seems like the one thing you don't need right now is more health problems.

I brought my bowling ball and my "Ab-Blaster" exercise video. But as it turns out I didn't use either one.

Congratulations! Thanks for letting us know it all went well. Welcome to the Light Side. I'm glad to hear you had another great experience with Dr. K. I think it's possible he may be too busy soon to continue with this price. We are the lucky ones! Let us know how your doing in the next few days.

Ron, are you literally frothing at the mouth right now? Or just figuratively frothing at the mouth. Now that Greg has "outed" you as an anti-semite, you are just about beside yourself. The fact of the matter is, Ron, there is nothing "natural" to a Jew about Jews for Jesus. The whole idea of it is highly offensive to Jews. Nothing could possibly be more offensive to a Jew than your suggestion that a Jew who believes in Christ is a "completed" Jew. Can you actually not know that? I'm sure everyone has heard of the saying "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing you did before and expecting a different result." Based on that definition it would be insane for me to have any expectation that Ron would be willing to approach this discussion with anything remotely resembling an open mind. So, I'll move on. Anyway, I'm late for my "Christians for Islam" meeting. [To be followed shortly by Ron's frantic, hysterical explanation about why I'm wrong about everything I just said, and why he knows better]

The part that you don't get Ron is that it is human beings who are the ones reading and interpreting the Bible. Let's assume that the Bible is the word of God and it means exactly what it says and it should be taken literally. Even with that assumption each human being will understand the Bible to mean something different. That's because a) humans are different, have different backgrounds and different levels of experience and intelligence, and words have different meanings, can be ambiguous and are subject to interpretation. This is true even if each person intends to read the words literally and give them a literal interpretation. That's why it is totally meaningless to argue that the Bible should be taken literally. That argument means nothing when it is humans -- fallable, varied humans -- who are doing the reading.

This is actually a little depressing. Now I understand the thought behind my Pumpkin Bottom pants.